Mississippi State issued out four scholarships on Sept. 1, the first day schools could begin offering juniors, and have netted two commitments from that group.

West Point three-star athlete Michael Carr became the first Bulldog commitment and now his teammate, three-star defensive tackle Curtis Virges has become the latest. The 6-foot-3, 290-pounder gave his pledge in person at the Big Dawgs Camp tonight.

"I wanted to do it at the camp so I could tell them in person while I was at Mississippi State," Virges said. "I knew that they really wanted me to come there. They sent me a scholarship the first day when I was a junior and that let me know that they wanted me really bad. Coach (Dan) Mullen renewed my scholarship when he got there and that made it even better."

Virges chose MSU over offers from Southern Miss and UAB. He was also receiving interest from Alabama, Ole Miss and Tennessee but the personal touch of the Bulldogs recruiting efforts won him over.

"They were really the only ones throughout the whole recruiting process that was sending me handwritten letters," Virges said. "Other colleges were just sending me stuff that was typed out and copied that they could send to anybody. Mississippi State was actually sending me cards and letters that talked about things."

Priximity also didn't hurt State's chances located less than 20 miles from his home in West Point.